The Back Cover of the Paperback showing Eva trying on her quan-tummy badge.

Things are looking good - maybe even GREAT! - for Ants In Space. The Kindle reached #3 in the UK and #4 in the USA on its first promo weekend - screenshots above to illustrate the relevant Amazon pages.

Click on the book illustrations above for the links to Amazon US or UK

​Latest News on the Paperback Print edition for those of you asking me is it will be available before the end of July 2016!

​FIRST THREE REVIEWS FOR ANTS IN SPACE

Fun and mesmerizing for kids and adults alikeBy J.C. Wing on 26 June 2016Format: Kindle EditionEven before the story starts to unfold, author G.J. Griffiths had me laughing out loud. He begins with an instructional note about how his tale, Ants in Space, should be told. Adults are known to forget important details like making sure tiny ant-people have tiny voices. He tells the children, who are excellent at reminding grown-ups, that this is an essential part of the storytelling, and Griffiths offers the most wonderful opportunity for both readers and listeners with this first book in his new series.

Lara is in the garden one beautiful day admiring the flowers, the sunny weather and the ants that are marching along the ground. When she hears tiny voices, she is sure that it is her older sister, Eva, playing tricks on her. When she realizes that Eva is nowhere near, she decides to do some investigating. This is when both Lara and Eva are carried away to begin their out of this world adventure.

These little ant-people the girls discover are enchanting. After Lara tells them she’s ‘a girl’, and that Eva is ‘my sister’, the tiny aliens take to calling them ‘Agorrl’ and ‘Myzeesta’. This is only one of the many wonderful, creative things Griffiths has come up with to make his story unique and entertaining.

The ant-persons of planet Antanesta need help. They are facing the direst of situations, and are hopeful that the children living on planet Earth will be able to assist them. Will Lara and Eva be able to come up with a solution to their problem?

I love everything about G.J. Griffiths’ Ants in Space. This book is absolutely mesmerizing … and not just for children. I’m an adult well past my picture book phase, and I was completely enthralled; not only with the story itself, but with the humor the author includes throughout, and the illustrations that decorate this delightful tale.

<>·There are some neat ideas here.By Alex James on 25 June 2016Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseAnts in Space is a pleasant illustrated science-fiction book for children 8-12 year olds, which entertains and yet at the same time informs about serious environmental problems. The light and clear tone means it can also be happily enjoyed by adults reading to children.When Lara and Eva first try to have a conversation with alien ant Kweezy Capolza, they have no idea that they might find themselves transported away from their Mum on a trip to learn about taking care of the environment and all living creatures. They will learn that even doing small things can contribute to helping, like finding non-stick pots.

I was convinced children would understand the message, much as I did. I liked how Kweezy took things literally, like the girls' names when they weren't saying their names, and when the girls say "Two suns, how cool is that?". Taking things literally is sometimes a common trait of aliens visiting earthlings, and ironically those on the autistic spectrum. It could be to do with difficulties in language processing, so this does make sense.

There are some neat ideas in Ants in Space, some of which can easily referenced to current technology such as similar mini mobile-phone devices. There were some new ideas as well like shrinking devices, being simple and yet effective for children to understand. The ants’ antennae curl up in happiness or flop down in sadness, which I felt was a good way for the children to understand what the ants were feeling and to sympathise with them.

The girls have an interesting adventure ahead of them as they try to learn more about the ants and their culture. First there's a bit of a language barrier, then there's the strange ant food (which turns out to be quite nice). Followed up with a trip in a flying saucer.

Young readers will enjoy the language throughout, complete with words that are loads of fun to hear when the story is read aloud. Not to mention pantomimes of the ants' wiggly antennae! But it isn't all fun and games. There's a lesson to be learned as well about respecting the earth and taking good care of all its creatures.